"Voice for the voiceless"

Je dois être une voix pour ceux qui sont impuissants à parlent d’eux-mêmes

I am the CEO in the high office
I am the jobless person in the alley
I am the professor in my ivory tower
I am the student struggling to understand
I am the millionaire living in my lavish mansion
I am the homeless person living on the streets

Debemos ser una voz para aquellos que son incapaces de hablar por sí mismos

I am Trayvon Martin
I am George Zimmerman
I am Matthew Shepherd
I am Sandra Bland
I am Adolf Hitler
I am Maya Young
I am Noony Norwood
I am Philando Castile

I am sinner and saint
I am woman and man
I am innocent and guilty

Kuralkaḷ illāta makkaḷukku, nāṉ avarkaḷiṉ kurallaka iruppēṉ

We are all star stuff
We are made of the same stuff that makes the stars
We must love all
We must be all
We are one
And one we are

Different, yet the same
Unique, yet identical
Individuals, yet a group
E pluribus unum

Dzayn peetee leenehm anhayt neh reem

We are Trayvon Martin
We are George Zimmerman
We are Matthew Shepherd
We are Sandra Bland
We are Adolf Hitler
We are Maya Young
We are Noony Norwood
We are Philando Castile

We are sinner and saint
We are woman and man
We are innocent and guilty

Na-noon bung-uh-ri wah go-doke-han ja-ee song-sa-rur wee-ha-yuh eeb-ur yur-ay-oh

We are the CEO in the high office
We are the jobless person in the alley
We are the professor in an ivory tower
We are the student struggling to understand
We are the millionaire living in a lavish mansion
We are the homeless person living on the streets

I must be a voice for the voiceless

We must be a voice for the voiceless
For just like us, the voiceless
Are fearfully and wonderfully made
Just like us, the voiceless
Are made of star stuff
The stuff of the stars

Je dois être une voix pour ceux qui sont impuissants à parlent d’eux-mêmes
Debemos ser una voz para aquellos que son incapaces de hablar por sí mismos
Kuralkaḷ illāta makkaḷukku, nāṉ avarkaḷiṉ kurallaka iruppēṉ
Dzayn peetee leenehm anhayt neh reem
Na-noon bung-uh-ri wah go-doke-han ja-ee song-sa-rur wee-ha-yuh eeb-ur yur-ay-oh
I must be a voice for the voiceless
We must be the voice for the voiceless

"Confustication"

Is it wrong to feel conflicted over good news?
Is it wrong to feel sad when someone else is happy?
Is it wrong to feel despair on some's happy day?

Sometimes it feels like the world is moving along
but I am standing still
Lost in a perpetual rut
Alone with no one to be there for me

I want to feel happy
I want to be overjoyed
I want to be ecstatic about your news
And for a bit I do
But then. I don't

Sometimes it feels like I am perpetually alone
Sometimes it feels like I have nothing to live for
Sometimes it feels like I get to watch everyone
around me be happy while I have nothing

It is strange to be sad when you are happy
It is strange to be depressed when you are well
It is strange to be conflicted when I should be happy for you

Joy seems like something so distant
Happiness seems to be like butter in a hot pan
Companionship seems like something for others
but not for me

But I must soldier on and present the face of happiness to the world
I cannot let my true feelings ruin your wonderful day
I must hide my conflict behind a mask so that you don't see it
I must watch everyone move along but me

I don't know what to do
I don't know what to say
I wish I didn't feel this way
But I do

So I wish you well
But I wish I felt well too

"Despair for the Future"

It begins with hope and change
It begins with history
It begins with optimism

But as it moves hope and change
Becomes hatred and stasis
What should be history
Becomes a repeat of the past
What is optimism
Becomes fear of the future

But surely that which is good and decent
Will triumph over the worst impulses of us all
Sadly, trust is misplaced
And we slip into the deep cesspool of negativity

Progress halted by fear of change
A religion based on love is used to inspire hate
People who should be caring for others
Reject those not like them

Privilege and power dominate over hope
Fear of change drives people to vote against themselves
Have we slipped so far that we choose hatred over hope?
Have we slipped so far that we reject the basis of our ideals?

They tell us not to be angry
They tell us that is will be ok
They tell us that we must accept what happened

They refuse to see our anger
They refuse to see our fear
They refuse to see who we are

How can we be one with people who deny who we are?
How can we be one with people who deny our value?
How can we be one with people who clearly hate us?

Yet we must struggle on and not give up
We must persevere in the struggle
We must not give into despair

Knock us down and we will rise stronger
Try and keep us down and we will rise twice as strong
Try and deny us and we will come roaring back

Someday we will
But for now we must come to grips with what has happened
For now we must grapple with the depth of hatred

I look to the future and I weep
I look to the future and also see hope
That is the strange dichotomy of what has happened
It is like a two-edged sword
Which we must swing to cut the oppressors

"Lament for Life"

They fall like rain
Like rain they fall
Bullets, tears, bodies, lives
Spent and used, wasted and discarded

Nice, Orlando, Istanbul, Bangladesh just to name a few
Police killing blacks, police being killed, people killing others
Anger abounding, the cup of anger runneth over

We scream at each other and point the finger at groups
We accuse each other of devaluing life and other people
We use differences to excuse anger, violence, and death

Yet, we are all the same
We are all made of the same stuff
We are made of the stuff that makes the stars
We are made of the stuff that makes the Earth
We are made of the stuff that makes each other

What hurts one, hurts all
What kills one, kills all
Cut us and do we not bleed?
Poison us and do we not die?
Wrong us and do we not seek revenge?

We are being poisoned by a diet of anger and hate
We are being inspired by purveyors of hatred
We look at that which is different and fear it
We see that which is not like us and devalue it

Are we different?
Of course.
Are we all the same?
No, and thank goodness.

It is in our diversity and differences
That our true values shows and shines

We need to lance the boil of hatred
We need to reject the chalice of indifference
We need to show that we love and care for each other

No matter who or what you are
You are loved
You are valued
You are needed
Without you the world is incomplete
Without you the world is missing a piece

Stop the anger, stop the hate
Show that you love each other
Show that each and every life is valuable
Show that everyone is needed

I do not know how many more tears I can cry
I do not know how many more times I can express condolences
I do not know how many more horrible events I can hear about and remain sane

With every incident, it feels like a piece of me dies
With every life that is snuffed out, I am made a little more hollow
With every person that is forced from this earth, I am lessened

With every incident, it feels like a piece of us dies
With every life that is snuffed out, we are made a little more hollow
With every person that is forced from this earth, we are lessened

Every time someone is killed, we are all lessened
Every time someone is taken from us, we suffer that loss
Every time someone destroys a life, we all lose a bit of our humanity.

All I need to know is, when will it all end?

"Solitude"

In a singularity I sit
Nothing comes in or escapes
Yet no one seems to notice
Yet no one seems to care

Screaming unheard
Frantically seeking someone
Arms waving, looking and seeking
Just wanted to be a part of the world

All around people just ignore me
People look but do not see
me in my singularity

Wanting to be a part
Wanting to participate
And when I do
It is all but ignored

Do things matter?
Does anything make a difference?
Am I merely an invisible thing to be used?

Sitting in a box waiting for my chance
My pleas all dismissed as unimportant
Sometimes I must wonder if it is worth it

Am I nothing?
Am I a thing to be ignored?
Or am I a person?

A person who wants to be a part of life
A person who wants to participate
A person who tries to participate
A person sitting in a singularity from which
Nothing can escape

"Words"

This is the first time I set out to deliberately write a poem as opposed to one being inspired by a particular event.  It was an interesting experience.

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Like a thousand knives, they cut

Like a noose, they tighten around your neck
Like a rock, they break you
A picture may be worth a thousand words
But a word can damage more

Carelessly we let words flit from our lips

Hurtful phrases coming tripping from ignorance
Thoughtlessly we say what is on our mind
Heedless of the damage and pain we cause

Have you ever heard the phrase

“That’s so gay!” or “That’s so girly!”
As if being gay or girly is something to be ashamed of

We hide behind anonymity to spew bile

We hurl invective and claim freedom of speech
We insult those we disagree with in the name of religion
And then act shocked when people get mad

We judge people and label them pejoratively

We look at them and put them in little boxes
Then if they don’t fit in with what we want,
We damn them to the outer levels of perdition

Yet words can help, so give a kind word to those who need it

Thus and so is the power of words
To hurt or heal, to harm or help
Which one they do is up to you.
Will you help or harm?  Will you heal or hurt?

Don’t tell me, show me. 

For while words are powerful,

They can be used to lie too.

The choice is yours.

"Freedom"

This was written the one time I tried pot.  It was a very interesting feeling that I tried to capture in this poem.

-------------------

So here's how it begins

a question, something to wonder about
so you are around friends
who allow you to explore

At first it seems like nothing

nothing is happening
and then come numbness
and a sense that you have no control

Fear sets in and you wonder if

what is happening is supposed to happen
you flip and you turn and you wonder
if this is the way it is

And then you just sit there

no longer in control
but your mind wanders and
wonders about various things

Then you are freed and able

to have the control you want
but wait, here comes the next wave

Without thinking, you talk

without thinking, you speak
without thinking, you go on and on

Flying free

flying high
no limits
no boundaries
nothing holding you down

Then here it comes again

freedom comes for you
and holds you in its grip

Up you go, like a kite in the breeze

up you go, wondering if you'll come down
up you go, never wanting to come back down again

Freedom is a wondrous thing

for one who craves control
Freedom is a mysterious thing
for one who fears change

And so you want more

while you wonder if you should
And so you want to experience
the freedom that you were given
by a friend.